Weakened Aerosol-PBL Interaction During COVID-19 Lockdown in Northern China

Anthropogenic emissions were greatly constrained during COVID-19 lockdown in China. Nevertheless, observations still showed high loadings of fine particles (PM_2.5) over northern China with secondary aerosols increasing by 15 μg/m³ yet a ∼10% drop in light-absorbing black carbon (BC). Such a chemical transition in aerosol composition tended to make the atmosphere more scattering, indicated by satellite-retrieved aerosol absorption optical depth falling by 60%. Comparison between weather forecast and radiosonde observations illustrated that, without upper-level heating induced by BC, the stabilized stratification diminished, which was conducive for planetary boundary layer (PBL) mixing and thus near-surface pollution dispersion. Furthermore, coupled dynamic-chemistry simulations estimated that emission reduction during the lockdown weakened aerosol-PBL interaction and thus a reduction of 25 μg/m³ (∼50%) in PM_2.5 enhancement. Based on the unique natural experiment, this work observationally confirmed and numerically quantified the importance of BC-induced meteorological feedback, further highlighting the priority of BC control in haze mitigation.